Unbeaten no more. The top-ranked UCLA Bruins entered Thursday's game at the No. 6 USC Trojans with a perfect 23-0 record.
After 40 minutes and an instant-classic performance from JuJu Watkins, USC toppled UCLA 71-60.
How did the Trojans do it? What does the upset mean for NCAA tournament seeds, rankings and the Big Ten race?
ESPN has the answers, as well as instant analysis from the game.
How did USC upend the nation's No. 1 team?
Paolo Uggetti: In what was a game that lived up to the hype and then some, USC took down the last undefeated team in the sport the only way it knew how: by letting JuJu Watkins cook. The sophomore stitched together one of the best performances in recent memory, scoring 38 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and somehow still having enough energy to add a whopping eight blocks to her stat line.
Watkins was unbelievable, there's no doubt about that, but USC's stout defense as a whole once again set the tone for the victory. The Trojans forced a typically sound UCLA team into 20 turnovers, scoring a crucial 21 points off those giveaways. Though Lauren Betts & Co. still owned the boards, the difference (10) was not so damaging that it created a ton of second-chance points. In fact, 60 points is the lowest total for the Bruins all season.
It'll be fascinating to see how UCLA bounces back from this. Of course the Bruins wanted to win this game, but now that the title of undefeated has been removed, I imagine coach Cori Close will use the loss to her team's advantage. Plus, this isn't the last time the Bruins will get a crack at the Trojans. USC will head to Westwood on March 1 for a rematch that should generate just as much anticipation as this one.
Charlie Creme: This was as remarkable a win by USC as anyone will see in not just college basketball, but in any sport. Consider that for half the game -- the second and third quarters -- the Trojans had one player make a field goal -- and they still knocked off the No. 1 team in the country by 11 points. Watkins, with her 38 points, 11 rebounds, 8 blocks and 5 assists, was the chief reason for the win. She did everything and did it when her team needed it the most.
But, as Paolo pointed out, USC played brilliant team defense. It wasn't just Watkins' scintillating blocks. The Bruins came in shooting 49.1%, and the Trojans held them to 35.1% from the field and forced 20 UCLA turnovers. Lauren Betts was good -- and her 18 points and 13 rebounds look good -- but she was never dominant other than a three- or four-minute stretch to start the second half. USC changed its approach to guarding her possession to possession, and it delivered results.
Watkins' performance and the atmosphere at the Galen Center helped this game live up to the expectations. And in addition to the teams doing it again on March 1, they could perhaps meet a third time this season in the Big Ten tournament.
Did Watkins gain ground on the player of the year front-runners?
Alexa Philippou: The player of the year conversation seemed to narrow in recent weeks to Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo and UCLA's Betts. Watkins' stats this season are similar if not better than her stats from her sensational freshman campaign. But she was outplayed by Hidalgo head-to-head in November, then in recent weeks was in a serious shooting slump that seemed to deflate her case. In her previous game, against top-10 Ohio State, she started 0-for-10 from the field and finished 5-for-21.
Always a player to step up when the lights are brightest, and certainly when bragging rights are on the line, Watkins flipped a switch on Thursday. She was so dominant all over the floor, time after time willing her Trojans to victory with every 3-point make, every block, every rebound or dime in transition. It's hard to remember an individual performance so impressive in so many facets of the game -- particularly considering it was against the previously undefeated No. 1 team in the country. Coach Lindsay Gottlieb called it "otherworldly," and that word feels quite apt. I'd say it's one of the best individual performances against a No.1-ranked team of all time.
And even though the game wasn't on national television -- and finished well after midnight on the East Coast -- it felt like Watkins and the game were all people were talking about online, a display that had casual fans tuning in and leaving in awe of what they saw. Those sorts of signature moments -- and this one is an all-timer -- tend to matter in POY races.
Is that enough to thrust Watkins ahead of Hidalgo and Betts? That's unclear right now, and there's plenty of season left (including at least one USC-UCLA rematch). But this dazzling effort can't be ignored, and Watkins firmly put herself back into the conversation.
Take it from our sportsbook: According to ESPN BET, Watkins had moved from +250 (third-shortest odds) to -160 (odds-on favorite) to win the Wooden Award by the time the game concluded.
How does USC's upset impact Bracketology?
Creme: As big of a win as this was for USC -- and how disappointing a loss it was for UCLA after leading by seven points in the second half -- it doesn't change much in Bracketology. The Bruins remain the No. 1 overall seed, and the Trojans are still just short of being a No. 1 seed.
What this game illustrates -- as does Texas' win over South Carolina on Sunday -- is just how close teams 1 through 6 are. UCLA had a margin for error as the last undefeated team in the country coming into Thursday's game. The win over South Carolina in November still looms large on the résumé. Other than suffering their first loss, nothing has changed for the Bruins.
USC can't quite break through to the top line yet because the résumés of the four teams ahead of it are better. Texas and South Carolina each have 10 Quad 1 wins, and Notre Dame has victories over USC and the Longhorns. This was big for the Trojans, just not quite big enough to get a No. 1 seed -- yet.